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3 min readNew DelhiFeb 9, 2026 06:44 PM IST
Divya Bharti died at the age of 19. (Photo: Express Archive)
Divya Bharti was just 16 when she entered the film industry and only 19 when her life came to a sudden, tragic end. In a career that lasted barely three years, she featured in 22 films and was already being compared to Sridevi—hailed by many as the next big thing of Indian cinema. But destiny had other plans. Her meteoric rise was cut short on April 5, 1993, when she fell from the balcony of her Mumbai apartment. Behind the dazzling success, however, lay a far more complicated emotional reality.
‘We went to discos and bars’
Child actor Master Raju, who shared a close bond with Divya, recently spoke to Siddharth Kannan about the actress, offering rare insights into her personal life. “Divya Bharti and Pooja Bhatt were the two heroines I was really close to,” he recalled. “They were kind, not filmy at all. I spent a lot of time with Divya—we went to discos and bars together many times. Like Salman Khan, Divya was also a close friend. We spoke for hours.”
Reflecting on her career, Master Raju said Divya was widely seen as Sridevi’s successor. “People called her the replacement of Sridevi—a young Sridevi. She had a very promising career. What happened to her was extremely unfortunate. There are many things I wouldn’t want to say on record now, especially because she’s no longer with us.”
‘Divya Bharti felt used’
He hinted that despite her professional success, Divya was deeply unhappy on a personal level. “She told me several things and gave examples of people. She was lonely and sad. But it doesn’t make sense to take names and create controversies today. She was very happy with her career, but not with her personal relationships. Not with men or lovers—we are talking about other people. She felt used. She felt that because she was earning and working, people were misusing her money. That made her unhappy.”
At the same time, Master Raju clarified that Divya found comfort in her marriage to filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala. “She was very positive about the man in her life. She was content and hopeful, looking forward to the future with him. That part of her life was fine.”
Her death came as a devastating shock. “When she died, it shook me completely,” Master Raju said. “I was the first person to reach there and the last to leave. It was tragic. This should not have happened.”
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When Divya Bharti died
Divya Bharti made her debut with the Tamil film Nila Pennae in 1990 and quickly became one of the most sought-after actresses in Hindi cinema. On the evening of April 5, 1993, she fell from the window of her fifth-floor apartment. Though she was rushed to the hospital, she was declared dead on arrival. The incident was officially ruled an accident.
Recalling the scene at the hospital, producer Pahlaj Nihalani—who had signed Divya for Shola Aur Shabnam—told Pinkvilla, “She was all alone at that time. No one had arrived yet. The moment I found out, I rushed to the hospital immediately.”
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